The Significance of Portages: Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Significance of Portages, 29th Sept–2nd Oct 2004, in Lyngdal, Vest-Agder, Norway, arranged by the County Municipality of Vest-Agder, Kristiansand: Proceedings of the Fi

Conveying craft and their cargoes between navigable waterways (Portages) represents a hitherto neglected feature of past transport geography. The idea of arranging an international conference on this subject first appeared during the mid-90s, when it seemed that it would be a good idea to create – and maybe also develop – a preliminary network, bringing together a number of people who shared a common field of research. This conference was eventually planned for September/October 2004 and in this volume the original English papers, and some translated from the Nordic session, have been brought together. Their subjects range geographically from Greenland to Russia, chronologically from the Mesolithic to Late Medieval, and (to a certain extent) modern times. The environments ranged from coastal to inland inter-river sites, and the topics from linguistic and etymological interests to myth making, ritual, and the experimental handling of boats at portages. A goal of the conference was to create an international network, and the embryo of such a network has been included in the proceedings. Another ambition, to include good bibliographies on the subject and its wide-ranging ramifications, has also been achieved. 201-202.pdf 9781841719306.p Pages from 9781841719306.t Front Cover Title Page Copyright Andrew Sherratt in memoriam Table of Contents Introduction A note on the main themes Portages: a simple but powerful idea in understanding human history On the Significance of Portages. A survey of a new research theme Portage at the base of Jutland during the Viking Period and the Middle Ages The “Portages” in Latvian and Lituanian Appellative and Toponomastic Lexicon Portages at the coast of Poland in medieval times Portages of Power – a preliminary report from Rogaland, Norway Portages in prehistoric societies – evidence from The Lower Danube Chalcolithic traditions Portages in the Late Bronze Age of NW Germany Routes to the Arctic Ocean Aspects of medieval and post medieval portage systems in the Russian north An Ethnoarchaeological Approach to the Problem of Portages Words for ‘portage’ in the Scandinavian languages, and place-names indicating old portages On the use of portages and boat-hauling in Greenland The Greenland portages as meeting sites The Dnieper rapids in “De administrando imperio”: the trade route and its sacrificial rites Portages in Early Medieval Scotland The Great Glen route and the Forth-Clyde Isthmus Early Medieval portages on the trade route between the Baltic and Black Sea: a case study from the Polish-Rus’ borderlands The myth of portages: On ancient portaging at the Trøndelag coast, Norway Portages in South Scandinavia – a typology Drag and Eid in Harkmark, Vest-Agder, Norway A possible Roman time portage between the North Sea and Baltic Schemes for artificial sea-river waterways in 17th century Courland Place-Name Evidence for Portages in Orkney and Shetland The portages in the Grimstad-area on the southeast coast of Norway Sea routes across land: Portages in Denmark, particularly during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages Abstracts: The Díolkos trackway near Corinth, Greece Fossa carolina An early medieval canal near a watershed The role of river systems, watersheds and portages for the formation of state borders of Northern Russia (Novgorod Land) Medieval portages of Northern Rus’: historiographical tradition, literary sources and archaeological evidence The Draged complex, the land uplift and the inner sea routes of the archipelago of Åland Portages Network